Guitar players know Les Paul by name, due to the popularity of the Les Paul models that Gibson makes. I’m not sure how many of the people who own a Les Paul have ever actually listened to his music.
One of the many innovations that Les Paul came up with, his use of multitrack may be the most important. He didn’t create the invention but he was the first to have one and use it. The idea of multitrack is right in the name, you can overlay different tracks on top of each other. This allows flexibility in recording. For example, you no longer have to record everyone in the band at the same time, a boon for bands who can’t stand the sight of each other anymore. Also, if someone makes a mistake, you don’t have to do the whole song all over again. You can just re-record that part.
It also leads to music becoming a bit more sterile, as the isolation of instrumentation leaves out the bleed of other instruments and the interesting sounds that can happen based on the room one is playing in.
When you listen to this track, “How High the Moon,” I want you to put yourself in the place of a recording musician hearing overdubbing for the first time, and not knowing what that was. How is Les Paul and Mary Ford doing this?
Music That Matters (To Me) 
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